So you're building an online store and need to select shopping cart software. Be sure to think about the experience and use of the software from both angels: as a merchant and as a customer.
As a Merchant
You'll be using this software to build and maintain your online store, so you need to be comfortable with it. And it needs to have the features and capabilities to support your business model. Ask yourself:
- What are the features you need?
- How large is your business now?
- How large do you want your business to be?
- Do you have products that require closely monitored inventory?
Be aware that your customer's experience with your shopping cart can have a big effect on your sales. Ask yourself:
- How will my customers navigate my online store?
- How will they want to pay for my products?
- Will my customers want or need order tracking features?
Different vendors offer a different suite of features, so you'll need to know which features are non-negotiable for you and your business. You'll want to include features that make running your business easier, such as ease of adding new products, running reports, including back-end sales and more, as well as features that make the customer experience better, such as fewer steps to payment, easy navigation and others.
Planning for Business Growth
The simplest shopping cart software of all is not a shopping cart at all. It is simply putting up "buy now" buttons from a third party payment provider like PayPal. If you have few products, tend to sell only one product at a time, and don't see your inventory of products growing, this method may work. But it is not suitable for larger businesses with several products that require constant monitoring.
If your business is not that simple, you need to invest in more sophisticated shopping cart software and there are two types: software that is hosted by a cart provider and software that is installed on your website's server.
Most digital carts work by keeping track of what the customers select and take with them to the checkout page, then link them through to a third party credit card payment provider. This type is often preferred choice by most small- and medium-size merchants as the price is comparatively reasonable with the features it provides.
There are some more advanced shopping carts that integrate with drop-ship and print-on-demand vendors, thus automating the shipping part of the transaction, as well. In addition, some vendors offer merchant account services as a part of their overall package.
Branding
Each virtual shopping cart solution offers a different level of look and feel customization. You need to know how well you want the shopping cart to be integrated into your website. Does it bother you if as soon as a client clicks the "buy now" button they are taken to a different URL? Or do you want them to stay comfortably on your domain until sent to the third party payment processor?
Budget
Will your budget better accommodate a one-time licensing fee or a monthly service fee? How robust of a shopping cart can your budget afford? The level of features and service can greatly affect the pricing of the software. So, as I mentioned before, decide on the features that are right for your business. Make a list of the things you need and rank it in order of priority. Then, you can easily compare those shopping cart vendors that offer the features you need. If the price is still too high, remove those features that are least important.
Customer Experience
A lot of things can affect the customer experience: graphical design, navigation, white space and more. And, the user experience affects your sales. Review different cart vendors and focus your attention to the ease of use, as this as the greatest affect on closing a sale or not. And remember, you'll want to make multiple payment options available, including PayPal and major credit cards.
Selecting shopping cart software is a significant decision. Evaluate the products based on the points I discussed above and you'll make the best one for your business.
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